The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on EA E3 Conference

EA promises more than 12 new experiences to be revealed at their E3 conference.  The Gamer’s Lounge is looking forward to seeing what they have up their sleeve!

EA starts their conference with a brief teaser trailer of Mass Effect Andromeda.  No real details are given, just a short video.

Need for Speed is shown.  It is a combination of the past Need for Speed titles.  The world is twice the size of the world in Need for Speed Rivals.  It features the richest customization ever in a Need for Speed game and has 5 overlapping stories for players to take part in, which are Speed, Style, Build, Crew and Outlaw.  The graphics look great and I am looking forward to trying it out once it is released on November 3rd.

Unravel is a new puzzle/platform game that is demonstrated for the first time.  In Unravel you control a character made of red yarn that unravels as you make your way through the levels.  The yarn you leave behind can be used to help you through levels or can get in your way, depending on the paths you choose.  The graphics in the game look fantastic and the gameplay seems very unique.  This is definitely a game that I am going to keep my eye on as it further develops.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is shown next.  The Zombies have taken over and the Plants are now on the attack.  It was announced that there will be 6 new character classes and free content updates.  It was also revealed that there will be a single player mode and players of the first game can transfer their characters to the second game for free.  Looks like another great game that I will be looking forward to in the Spring of 2016.

NBA Live 16 is demonstrated.  A cell phone app is shown that is used to scan your face into the game.  The demonstration looked pretty straight forward and the results were great.  It will be interesting to see if that is the case when it is released to the public  New live-motion, physics based movement, revamped passing and a new shot system were also showcased.  I don’t think NBA Live is going to surpass 2K by any means, but it is nice to see some improvement on the recent versions.  I will give the game a shot for sure when it is released on September 29th.

FIFA 16 is shown next.  This is the first time that Women's teams are featured in a FIFA game.  Better defense and physics are boasted, along with the announcement that all FIFA Ultimate Team players will receive Pele and Messi for free today.

One of the most hyped games of E3, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is shown next.  This iteration takes you to the backstory of Faith, the main character.  This game is truly free-roaming as there are no levels or loading screens.  There are also no weapons, Faith relies on her agility and martial arts abilities to take out her enemies.  The gameplay shown was very fluid and the graphics were outstanding.  The combat system seemed to work great.  This will be a huge release when it comes out February 23rd, 2016.

A new kind of NFL Fantasy Draft game was revealed.  Draft Champion is a unique type of fantasy draft in which the player is given the choice between 3 players each round.  There is a lot of strategy involved because you never know what player or positions will come up each round.  Once you draft your team, you can play with that team online or solo.  Once you finish the short season, you draft again.  Seems like a very interesting concept to me and I will be giving it a try for sure.

Madden 16 was featured next.  Some precision control changes were revealed.  The changes are for the Quarterback, Wide Receiver and Defensive Back positions.  For the Quarterback, three different passes can be made, a low pass, a bullet pass and a high pass.  For the Wide Receiver,  you can make three kinds of catches, a yards after catch, a possession catch and an aggressive catch.  Unfortunately, As EA was getting into the Defensive Back’s controls, the Twitch stream had some technical difficulties.  By the time it came back online, the Madden presentation was finished.

Star Wars Battlefront was the final game shown at EA’s conference.  EA used real sets and props from the movies to create the worlds, weapons and characters in the game.  The game features split screen co-op and one-on-one battles.  The PS4 gameplay footage showed the game being played from all sides in both 1st and 3rd person views.  I am not a big Star Wars fan, but I am really looking forward to playing this game.

Overall EA had a pretty good conference.  There was a lot of excitement for Mirror’s Edge and Battlefront.  There are quite a few games from EA that I am looking forward later this year and into 2016.

Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more coverage of E3 2015!

The Gamers Lounge Reactions and Thoughts on Sony E3 Conference

Sony’s conference has a lot of hype coming into it, with games such as Uncharted 4 and No Man’s Sky rumored to make appearances.  Can Sony keep up with Microsoft when it comes to big announcements?  It’s time to find out!

A gameplay video of The Last Guardian is shown to the excited crowd.  The gameplay is full of intense action and the graphics look great.  Definitely a game to look forward to in 2016.

Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games introduces their newest franchise Horizon Zero Dawn.  The gameplay video features the main character as she hides in bushes while hunting robotic dinosaur type enemies.  The gameplay looked smooth and the graphics looked very good.  Looks like a game I will be following as development continues.  No release date announced.

It was announced that a new Hitman game will be available on Beta to Playstation 4 first.

Street Fighter 5 gameplay footage is shown along with characters Birdie and Cammie.  The short video looked great.  It was announced that a beta will be available on PS4 on July 23rd.

A gameplay demo of No Man’s Sky is shown.  The player shows a brief space fight.  The battle is intense and looks great.  He then shows how many different places you can visit, which seems to be endless.  He then travels to a random undiscovered solar system.  He flies to a beacon on a planet and the planet is now discovered.  Each planet is destructible but is protected by robotic machines.  The game looks awesome and I am looking forward to it when it comes out.

Alex Evans of Media Molecule presents Dreams, an art creation type game where players can work together to create unique art.  The short demonstration was very interesting.

A trailer for Firewatch is shown.  The graphics in Firewatch look great and the story seems interesting.  Looking forward to seeing more of Firewatch.

Destiny’s next expansion, The Taken King is shown and has a release date of September 15th.  It contains a new map and much more content.  The trailer was amazing.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is shown.  The trailer shows some intense combat along with some new weapons.  You can play some missions exclusively on PS4.

World premier of World of Final Fantasy is shown.  The graphics, story and gameplay look amazing.  It will be released in 2016 exclusively on PS4 and PS Vita.

It was announced that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is coming out on PS4.  The announcement got a huge reaction from the crowd, as expected.  The trailer looked awesome and is a game many gamers will be looking forward to.

Shenmue 3 is announced and is funded by Kickstarter.  It is a sequel to the first and second Shenmue, not a spin off.  Yu Suzuki counts down to the opening of the Kickstarter campaign and the crowd goes crazy.  This is a game I can’t wait for! It has been a long time coming and there is no doubt it will get funded.  I think it will reach it's 2 million dollar goal within 24 hours.

Batman Arkham Knight is shown.  The story looks to be great and graphics are amazing.  The scene shown is from the Scarecrow Nightmare Missions exclusive to the PS4 and takes place in a restaurant that is attacked by zombie-like creatures.

Project Morpheus is talked about.  Many games that are compatible with Morpheus are shown, including RIGS which is a 3 on 3 battleground.  

Playstation Vue is launching in San Francisco and Los Angeles tonight.  Subscribers will be able to choose what channels they want without purchasing packages.  

Sony and Activision have teamed up to bring Call of Duty Black Ops 3 to E3. The campaign can be played with up to four friends online.  Gameplay video looks great and teamwork seems to be the key to success.  The environmental destruction looks tremendous.  Multiplayer is also demoed and it looks very smooth.  I’m not a huge CoD fan, but I am looking forward to this game on November 6th.  Playstation players will be the first to get all map packs and get beta access.

Disney Infinity 3.0 is shown.  Star Wars Twilight of the Republic and Rise Against the Empire playsets are shown and a limited edition starter pack that is exclusive to PS4 is announced.  A trailer for Rise Against the Empire is shown and looks interesting.  It is also announced that a Boba Fett figure is included in the limited edition starter pack that will be released on PS4 before any other consoles.

Star Wars Battlefront is featured and talks about the multiplayer aspect of the game.  Co-op is playable online or split screen.  I have to say the graphics in Battlefront are some of the best I have ever seen.  I am not a huge Star Wars fan, but this is a game I have to play when it is released in November.  

The final game shown is Uncharted 4.  The gameplay shown starts in a crowded area and the graphics look amazing.  NPCs move around fluidly without any hiccups as the characters move through the crowd.  As bullets start flying, everything remains smooth and the environmental destruction is very realistic.  When the action moves to the streets, the environmental damage is just as impressive.  Another game I cannot wait for!

That wraps up Sony’s E3 conference.  Quite a few good announcements and gameplay demos.  Not quite as exciting as Microsoft’s conference, but still good none-the-less.  Make sure you stay tuned to The Gamer’s Lounge for more updates and news from E3!